In a perfect world, Carli Lloyd would get nine hours of sleep every night. Since leading the United States to the World Cup title, however, Lloyd has been lucky to get four or five hours of shut-eye.

The Golden Ball winner's feet this week finally landed in Houston for at least the next month as she and World Cup teammates Morgan Brian and Meghan Klingenberg try to lead the Dash to the NWSL playoffs.

They will be on the field Friday when the Dash play host to Sky Blue FC at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Though she has played in four Dash games since scoring three goals against Japan on July 5 in the World Cup final, Lloyd hadn't practiced in Houston until Thursday. She had to fly from coast to coast to meet the Dash for their game in Washington last weekend.

Mind over matter

"I feel like every morning I wake up and I don't really know what state I'm in," Lloyd said. "I've been all over - San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York a bunch of times. I have been taking advantage of the experience and meeting cool people. It's fun to do different things."

While her body may have been all over the place, her mind remained focused on soccer. She scored goals in her first three games back with the Dash. One came in a 1-0 victory over the Western New York Flash on July 20. She also scored the winner on a brilliant 30-yard laser in the 85th minute against FC Kansas City five days later.

Lloyd, 33, was named the NWSL Player of the Month.

"As I've gotten older, it's all in the mind," she said. "If you prepare your mind right, you can power through a lot of things. I was operating on four or five hours of sleep for a majority of weeks - coming in for games, flying out, sleeping on planes. I drank lots of coffee."

Lloyd, Brian and Klingenberg are not the only World Cup veterans getting their feet back under them for league play. The Dash have signed 20-year old Brazilian Andressa, who started all four matches at the Wold Cup. They already had Canadians Erin McLeod, Lauren Sesselman and Allysha Chapman on the roster.

Playoff push

Coach Randy Waldrum said having the lineup at full strength allows the Dash to control the ball better and build better attacks. Without forwards and defenders moving into the midfield spots, the players now play their natural positions.

"It's important that we have them back," Waldrum said. "It has been a big boost. This is exactly what we need heading into the stretch run."

With five matches remaining, the Dash occupy the fourth and final playoff spot. They are one point clear of the Portland Thorns and FC Kansas City and two points clear of the Western New York Flash.

Every point matters the rest of the way. Now that the World Cup and the whirlwind month that followed behind them, Brian said they are focused on playing for their club.

"We won the World Cup and now we want to win the NWSL championship," Brian said. "We want to help the Dash build as an organization, get fans to come to the games and help everyone grow the game."